Archive for August, 2009

At a birthday party last night there was considerable talk of Leadville….
Here is Big J’s report….its the closest to my experience….
Here it is:

It’s pretty dry and long but a report.

Leadville 100 MTB—-The hardest race I’ve ever done.

That’s right. August 15th, 2009 was my hardest longest day on the bike. I’ve done a lot of races from as far north as Montreal and as far south as Mexico City. I’ve raced everything from BMX to the track to the road and off the road but I’ve never suffered more on the bike than that day.

I look back and wonder how this is and I have no answer. I only feel it and can only guess that it was a perfect storm of lack of training, bad weather, competition, MTB racing, and of the course the Lance factor.

I lined up at 6am. It was dark. It was 35 degrees. I straddled my Voodoo Aizan 29er with white grips. I was a few hundred athletes from the front. At 6:30, the shotgun blasted. The racers took off for adventure. The race started unusually fast. The neutral car sped along at 30+mph and Lance’s domestiques pulled the 1400 riders as fast a MTB can go. We entered the dirt single file. Snake and I stayed in the top ten. There was no moving up at that point. It was stay in the draft and follow the wheel.

Now the first climb. We were climbing like this was a typical 2 hr NORBA race and not 100 miles above 10,000 feet. A group of us climbed away from the rest. It was a group of legends like Tinker, T Brown, Dave Wiens, Lance and other like myself, Shriver, Bryson Perry, Manny Prado, and others. I was suffering.

Lance went around me to the front and motioned to Shriver he wanted to go faster. Shriver and him took off. No one followed and the group gradually split. I suffered more. I fell off the pace. I would not see the front again.

Rolling along the top of St. Kievins climb, I flatted my rear notubes tire. I stopped and refilled with my BigAir. Snake went by along with Legs Lehman. I jumped on their wheel as we hit the pavement. It was now 45 degrees and raining but I had a good group to work with.

Unfortunately, my rear tire deflated again. I stopped this time and put in a tube. Hundreds of riders passed me but I looked at this as an opportunity to ride my pace. I jumped from group to group and settled in with 4 guys down Power line and to the first feedzone. I suffered. It was still raining and I couldn’t feel my hands.

As I passed the feedzone, I started to feel good and led my group onto the next section of the race. Soon I was alone and I could barely see Legs Lehman. I caught up with him on the new section of the single track and we then joined a group of 20 riders. This was good. I could now see Snake in the next group.

I went across to Snake’s group and latched on to his wheel. Snake gave me a huge pull up to the next feed station at Twin Lakes. As we started Columbine, he said see ya and settled into his own groove. We all settled into our own groove. I slowly caught and passed riders that had left me before. As I got near the top of Columbine where the road changes and you switch to your granny ring. Lance passed me going down. The road bent to the left and I could barely make out the tent at the top. I wasn’t even close. I was in my granny gear and the climb only got steeper. At this point I was above treeline and the wind was blowing me off my line. For me I had the entire road to pick a line so I made the climb without a walk grinding one pedal stroke at a time. I reach the top only to descend down to the turn around. I was in 9th.

Downhill was fast. Going up was a single file line of athletes riding and walking. By the bottom I was with 8th, Manny Prado. We looked to be on the same page so we rode together changing pulls every couple of minutes. At each climb, we quickly shifted to the granny ring. Now I was in a higher placing than I expected to be and my competitive drive willed me to stay there. I knew we were riding slow but everything needed to be saved for the remaining climbs.

We started up Power line. In the granny ring, one pedal stroke at a time we slowly made it to the top. I could have walked faster but the spectators cheered us to keep riding. I kept thinking when will this end. When will this end? I suffered but made the top. We still had one more climb to go.

Up the pavement we started and climbed what seemed to be fast but now everything is fast when you are not in your granny gear. As we neared the top, Manny says we have another rider joining us. It’s Mike Hogan who has plenty of top finishes at this race. This is not good. I’ve bonked 3 times already. We entered the dirt. Mike quickly dropped us. Then I had a mechanical and was left for dead. I rallied with anything I had left.

I descended St. Kievins, put my head down. I could see them together. I slowly brought them back and joined Manny and Mike with 2 miles to go. No happy ending for me. With 500 meters, Manny jumped. Then Mike. I limped in for tenth.

I was just happy to cross the line…to finish….to get my belt buckle. This was my hardest day on the bike and my longest day on the bike. I finished in 7 hrs 35 minutes. This race brought me out of my “retirement” and put me back into my “retirement.”

Jimmy’s report from leadville…
OK, the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race is in the books and Jonny has been asking me to write a little report on the event. It is always interesting to read other people’s perspectives on things like this. Things like this are hard for everyone, it’s just a long day on the bike no matter how you slice it. Lance may have finished in a new record time, but it’s not as if it was easy for him and the guys/gals who roll in on either side of 12 hours certainly busted their asses to do that as well. That is the beauty of this event, it is a challenge no matter how you look at it and that’s what makes it so appealing to such a wide variety of people.

For those of you who don’t know, your day in Leadville really starts on Friday morning with the medical check and race briefing by Ken. It’s a little inconvenient to have to come a day early for the race, but I really don’t think there is any other way to get 1,400ish people registered and ready to go for the 6:30 a.m. start on Saturday. In reality it is more like a 4:30 a.m. start if you want to get your bike lined up any where near the front of the field. Really, people are out there laying their bikes down in the street at that hour so they can hold their position for the start. Luckily for me, I was able to roll to the start pretty early because of my finish from last year. Lined up right next to Snake, Tinker, Lance and Wiens…pretty good company, eh?

The weather was pretty iffy on Friday night and a pretty heavy rain woke me up at 4:00 a.m. and that definitely did not help my morale. After last year, I vowed that I would never do the event again, but I was persuaded to do it again this year so there I was standing in the dark at 6:15, waiting to get the party started. The rain had stopped, but it was still pretty chilly (overnight low of 38 degrees) and there was still some moisture in the air. As you looked west, you could see a dusting of snow on the peaks in the distance, so I was wondering what we might see up on Columbine. I thought about starting in a long-sleeve jersey, but at the last minute decided to opt for arm warmers, a vest and knee warmers. Last year I used the same set up, minus the knee warmers.

Finally the start arrived and we rolled down the pavement on Sixth. The chaos within the race was pretty mellow, at least at the front of the field. Afterwards, I heard stories of some people hitting the ground in the first 200 meters of the race, but I guess that is to be expected when you put that many people on the line together. The major chaos was occurring in front of the race as photographers, amateur and professional, tried to digitally capture the day so generations yet unborn could experience a piece of Leadville history. About 400 meters after the start, the usual neutral start came to an abrupt end as the pace vehicle just pulled away from us. I guess Lance really is going to go for the course record…Instead of the typical slow start to the long day, we started like we were doing a 60-minute criterium. At first people were joking about the quick start, “Whoa, this is pretty fast, huh?” “We’re clipping along”. Then the joking stopped after we went over the first little hump on Sixth, now it was starting to line out a little and the guys on 26-inch wheels were starting to run out of gear. Looking to the west, I noticed a beautiful rainbow in front of us. That’s really nice. Problem is, you have to have rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. We were riding in sunshine, so that meant we must be heading towards rain…uh oh.

This was faster than I wanted to start, but in the end it was better because it kept the field in check and guys were unable to move forward from the back. With a neutral start, pretty much anyone can roll up the outside and squeeze in near the front, but at these speeds you had to be pretty serious about your commitment to pull off a move like that. Fine by me, I was sitting in the top-20 as we took the right turn onto the dirt. Now we were single file as we take the right turn onto St. Kevins and I am starting to wonder about my commitment to this pace. 30 seconds later, I swung off and found a new commitment, my pace. I took a quick glance behind to make sure that I wasn’t going to gap anyone off and there wasn’t anyone in there! 20 minutes into an eight-plus hour day and the field was torn to shreds. Survival mode.

I found my rhythm and a small group on St. Kevins and settled in for a long summer’s day. And it was going to start as a long, wet summer day as the rain started about two minutes later. In case you’re wondering, 38 degrees and rain is not a great combination for bike riding, especially when you’re clad only in lycra. Oh well, what’s a guy to do at this point, the only choice was to keep pushing on and hope for brighter skies over the next hill.

The rain let up as we went around Turquoise Lake and up Sugarloaf. Unfortunately it started again as we were descending Powerline. This was great for traction, but not so great for staying warm. I was starting to shiver and my feet were fully soaked as we rolled past the fish hatchery and headed towards the Pipeline feed zone. I was thinking about calling it a day there, but nobody likes a quitter so I told myself that I had to at least keep going until Twin Lakes, if it was still raining when I made it there then I would call it a day. Luckily I had stashed some dry gloves in my Pipeline bag so I swung in to grab them. At this point, I needed someone to help pull off the wet gloves and help me put on the dry ones. I hated to let my group ride away from me, but if I hadn’t stopped for the gloves I don’t think I would have lasted much longer.

Two miles later the weather took a turn for the better and I started to warm up. I nearly made it back on group before Columbine, but couldn’t quite reach them. The climb up Columbine was slow, but steady. I had some trouble on the top section, but kept moving forward and timed it perfectly: heavy winds and freezing rain at 12,600 feet! The good thing about freezing rain…it’s dry! I was cold, but at least I wasn’t cold and soaking wet. The descent was a little sketchy at time because it had been raining at the lower elevations, so there were some slick spots on the way down. Survived it and took my peanut butter and jelly sandwich at Twin Lakes.

Now I was on the home stretch and the sun was starting the come out. The warm temps and dry riding helped lift my spirits. I found a little group and organized them into a cohesive bunch. We stayed together until the bottom of Powerline and then it was every man for himself, just do what you can to keep the bike moving forward. I spent the rest of the day by myself and that was just fine. I wasn’t working that hard because when I pushed on the pedals there just wasn’t anything there. I had one speed at that point, so I just put it on autopilot and pointed the ship towards Leadville.

Had a fun descent down Sugarloaf, a steady climb up the road around the lake and then kept it on two wheels down St. Kevins. The tailwind on the boulevard was just what I needed to help keep me motivated for those last few miles. Just around the next corner I’ll see the pavement…eventually I did and then the red carpet comes into view and what a lovely sight that is. Fitness and motivation were a little lower than last year, but I still managed to roll across the line in 8:06. Glad to have that one behind me.
And no, this is not Jim, this is Stevil….who after almost 14 years, is finally leaving Swobo.
For his own adventure….here.

What a great day…customs in the morning…meetings in the early afternoon and then DHing until the lifts close down…bitches.
Here is a link from Big Jonny, who is up to his tits in law school bullshit…pray for him.

Jake needs no praying for..he finished Leadville in 8 hrs.
LT 100 MTB

Big Jonny has been wanting a race report so here are some general thoughts that I had on the LT this year. It doesn’t matter that Lance won. What did you think was going to happen? It didn’t matter if he brought a thug squad or not. Wiens had the same free ride as Lance did, but when Lance went for it at the base of Columbine no one could follow. So that’s that. Did those guys help Lance set the course record? Yes. Did the cop car at the start help with that? Yes. Did anyone get mad at the cop this year for going so fast? No. So shut your pie hole. I think if someone is bitching it should be someone who 1. didn’t get in through the lottery process. 2. read somewhere that Lance called in a favor to get a couple of thugs to come and help him. 3. you’re not as fast as those thugs. I think then you might have a legitimate complaint but before you start throwing mud you need to see it from all sides. From Kens point of view. Let Armstrong in the race; let him bring in some thugs. Good for the race good for the town. The reason that he has the race is to bring money to a dying mining town. Then step in Lance’s shoes. He need some help to really drill it. If not then Wiens and himself are going to have to do a huge day by themselves. Which would have been cool to see, but the outcome would have been the same. My point of view, I didn’t care. I get the free ride just like everyone else. When my number got called like everyone else’s I was out the back. Your view…. Well, if you put in, then didn’t get in, then you heard about some other guys getting in at the last second. Well you should be a little miffed. Maybe next year you can call Ken at some point if you don’t get in and say I can bring X amount of dollars to your race and this is how I’m going to do it and you can expect a check for this. Then see if you “get it”. If all your bringing is yourself then head to the back of the line. Don’t get all high and mighty on how big and bad yourself is. Bring something to the table, not just yourself.

Ok on to the race. Fuck 4:30 is early to wake up and try to eat! Then add to that it’s raining at 4:30…… I woke up and the first thought in my head was shit, this is going to be a long day. The rain was on and off that morning. I don’t mind racing in the rain as long as I can start dry and at least race into the rain, but starting wet sucks. So dry or at least sort of dry was a good thing. One thing of note was that I got to start along side of on my heroes. Tinker, another class act just like Wiens. BAD ass. Tinker was winning races back when mtb racing was real. Big loop formats and that guy really does ride in his big ring all the time! I remember watching the worlds in 94 in Vail, Tinker was big ringing all three of those loops where most of the guys where middle if not small ringing it! So that was cool. So off we go down the pavement. Cop car immediately goes to 40 mph. Looks like someone got a phone call to step on it so we could be 5 minutes faster in the first 3 miles. Usually I have the opportunity to attack the bunch at mile 4 or so. Not this year. Just single file for us all the way to the base of the first climb. Well turns out that the pace was a little too much for me and all but 15 of the top guys. So I had to let go the first climb. No worries it’s a long day. I just rode my own pace. I still came into the first time check at the same time I always do. So did Lance and his posse have an effect on me? Not really. Usually I come through in the top 5 now I’m in the top 20. Who cares. The goal for Leadville has always been go under 9 hours. Get the big buckle and anything else that happens is just gravy. I would say that the biggest factor at Leadville this year wasn’t Lance. It was the weather. We got pounded on going up the first climb, then again going down Power Line. Then again at the top of Columbine it was super windy. I would say 20-30 mile an hour gusts. There was a small group of us that got hit by hail for about 5 minutes. That sucked. Try being clad in skin tight lycra at 12,600 feet and the wind is howling and hail is pounding you. Not a situation that I would want to be in again. Then the decent down Columbine for me was a rainy and muddy one. Besides that it was a great day all the way back to the finish line. If you did do the race and finished then great job! That was the worst weather I have seen in the 8 years that I have done it. My time was slower this year that past. 8 hours 1 min. But I had fun. It’s funny how 25 minutes can make me feel way way better. Usually it takes me a couple of weeks to recover from something like this. I have ridden 4 times this week and today I feel great. So a word to the children out there. If you just ease up a bit and don’t go into the red on the long rides, you will finish feeling a little bit better.

Fuck it, I don’t really have much to say this year. I didn’t really want to do the race. I tried to get out of it 3 weeks before but couldn’t. I didn’t train for it like I used to. But I did it and that’s that. Ho Hum on the LT. It’s not as cool as it used to be.

Time to find something else that turns the cranks… You know what I mean???

Big ups to Fatty!! www.fatcyclist.com sorry that he crashed
Big ups to BJR for showing up and barely missing the 9 hour mark.

So Gene sends me this pic all fucked up on morphine and says “Doc, how does this look? Is it right?”
“It looks expensive” I say.
Well, thats a drain thats inserted into Gene’s Pleural space….because I’m assuming that he has/had a partially collapsed lung and as it re-expands to occupy the cavity, there will be serous fluid that needs evacuation…….dude, I’m more impressed with GeneO’s presentation of chest hair…that shit it straight up Austin Powers. I do like the lead placement…..straight up fucking midwest. But what do I know, I’m just a mild manored Dentist.
This poor fucker nail gunned a nail straight up and it missed all his teeth while having the butt of the nail stop itself in the hard palate. A few inches to the left or right would have put the nail into his eye (orbit) but ironically, it just barely grazed his frontal cortex. And just FYI, this guy came to the hospital 5 days after the ‘incident’ because he couldn’t take time off work..What a rock star.
What else can I show you?

Many of you have asked how Fatty did in Leadville. Well, he actually crashed…and pretty hard at that. Seriously, I’m really glad he didn’t hurt himself…40 mph down a wet road. Leadville #13 for Fatty, your a rockstar Elden.
My final thoughts on Leadville are that it was fun. Long, unusual, crowded, but fun.
Got to spend time with Kim
and Jeff
and Jeff
and Lance

So, in retrospect, the only thing that I’d change is that I’d line up a bike and start closer to the front…as in 1000 people closer to the front. Will I be back next year…I might. To be honest, I’ve got my mind on Lotoja.
And a morning ride…I’m outta here.

Kims got the pics on the office/shop computer. I”ll post them next time.
But I was thinking about the bike, as it is in the stand, muddy and in desperate need of a major tune/clean. Today, I will definitely ride the road…as it is a clean machine and the MTB is unridable.
For Leadville, I rode a Turner 5 spot.
Turner is our newest brand, and I like them a lot. It was either the 5 spot or a Moots 29er (rigor or YBB – I actually had the choice).
Now, you all know that I’m a ti guy, a huge Moots fan and the whatnot….and if you read any of the Leadville blogs, you always hear how great a 29er course it is.
Well, the choice came down to rule #1 of racing…which is, don’t change up ANYTHING the day (or days) before your big race/destination ride.
So, since I had a couple miles on the Turner and liked the geometry, I went with it over the XC’d out Moots…which Kim rode by the way in Leadville and loved.
The 5 spot was set up trail style. Fox 36er 160mm fork, Avid elixr brakes, gravity dropper seatpost.
Yes, the 28lb beast was a little heavy going uphill (not unlike a 29er) but going downhill was a dream. I passed so many people on the downhills and felt 100% confident in the ruts going 35mph.
An added bonus is that when you drop the seatpost of a gravity dropper, you straighten up you back which adds to the relief factor during a 100 mile mountain bike ride.
There were many 29ers at the race. I was impressed….there were a fair amount of single speeds too…and many women on single speeds….good lord.
My man, Travis Brown rode drop bars. Fascinated by this, I arranged anAO interview.
AO: Travis, my man.
TBrown: Jonny, good to see you at Leadville.
AO: Yeah, let me get down to it, why the pussy ass drop bars?
TBrown: Well, it seemed like a good idea due to the long road sections and mostly double track nature of the course.
AO: Did you stretch yourself out on the bike?
TBrown: I did. I wanted to get as aero as possible for the road section. The wind out there can and was pretty brutal.
AO: It looked like you and Matt (Shriver) were pacing Lance along…was that the plan?
TBrown: It was. From the gun, the plan was to get Lance to the Columbine climb, or further to the Powerline climb. Matt pulled for about 40 miles, and then I pinned it as best I could, but Matt ended up passing me in the end because I kinda ran out of gas.
AO: Yeah dude, it a long race, isn’t it? Was it fun working for Lance.
TBrown: It was, we had a neat little team and it was great to help set a new course record.
AO: Did big tex throw you down some coin?
TBrown: You know I can’t discuss that.
AO: Thats cool, I’ll slip you some E when I’m at single speed worlds next month and I’ll drug it out of you.
TBrown: Are you coming down for that?
AO: Travis, I’m staying at your house!
TBrown: No your not?
AO: I”m just kidding man, well, congrats on a great finish, it was fun racing with you again.
TBrown: Yeah, congrats, that was your first Leadville, right?
AO: It was.
TBrown: Are you going to do it next year?
AO: Honestly, I don’t know….it was super hard on me, and I’d like to give LOTOJA a try maybe.
TBrown: Well, I think that you should do both…and also, let me recommend at Leadville next year starting at the front with the fast guys instead of being a total pussy and packing it in 1400 people deep….just so you know.
AO: Thanks Travis, I”ll give you a call whenever I need a pep talk.
That was the course. more pics later.

Many have asked for thoughts on Leadville. Here are some……Kim has pics, maybe tomorrow or Wed I can put some up…

Our trip/vacation started just like the past dozen…7 hrs late. Jesus Christ, I’ve got to do something about that. The goal was to get to Leadville by dark….and maybe ride in Fruita, Steamboat, etc…
But hey, life happens, and attitude is everything. So at 3:30, we shoved off. The drive was actually wonderful. Kim and I listened to cycling podcasts and it was great.
So, we ate at a great mexican place in Rifle, CO. And that was great. At Minturn, we turned off 70 and headed up to Leadville. Long climb. Got there and it was dark and 40 degrees out. We buzzed our motel owner and he gave us the keys. Super nice mountain town coloradoian. That was the theme for the whole vacation. The ENTIRE town of Leadville made a huge positive impression on me. Everybody had a smile on their face, a positive attitude, and a helping hand. How would the world be if every day and everyone was like that. So, off to bed, and up ad at em Friday.
Friday – Grounds for Coffee is a great coffee shop. Amazing baked goods and fantastic coffee drinks. A+ in my book. We had a few park city people up there, but my goal was to take it really easy and just enjoy the time with Kim.
So I met the good Doctor (Jeff) for a morning ride since he is a man of experience with Leadville. We rode a little loop including ‘the boulevard’ which is a demoralizing section that greets you as you return to town.
Lunch, nap, bike prep, sign in meeting in the morning…dinner. Beer. We actually rode down to the Carmichael Training Systems carbo dinner. It was great. I got to see my buddy Snake, who is a CTS trainer. He’s an 8 hr guy. Man, there were a lot of riders stuffed in a little town. Oh well.
Saturday, 5am – up and at em, sunshine. Its 39 degrees out and it rained last night a little, so shits on!
I came to leadville thinking I could make the coveted 9 hr mark. When I went to sign in at 5:45, I saw that there were hundreds of bikes positioned at the start ‘saving’ the place of their owners. It was at this time that I realized that there was going to be a problem of 100′s of people in front of me at the start. So, it was time to take it down a notch. I warmed up nicely, and at about 6:15 headed to the start line. I was over 1000 people deep in the field. Basically, I was in the F troop, and there were guys with beer guts, costumes, tennis shoes, cutoff jeans and 20 year old mountain bikes around me. Now, these people are great, but I realized that they were in the ‘just finish it’ group and I had a lot of catching up to do.
The start – So the shotgun goes off and its minutes before we even move. The first dreaded corner is a joke, because we are all balled up, but going super slow. For the first 20 miles, which involves a climb, decent, and then the backside of powerline, it was wall to wall people boxing me in. Its so depressing, because your going slower than you want, but here’s the bitch. It started raining, and I was getting cold from not going particularly hard. Let me say that again….getting cold…almost to the shivering point, going uphill, because I wasn’t putting out enough effort. 10,500 feet, even at 11,000 feet. I made up my mind that if it didn’t stop raining by the first aid station, that my race was done. I cursed myself for not packing a super warm jacket and warm gloves…and leggings. I imagine I passed about 200 people before the aid station.
First aid station – The plan was for Kim to not be there since its not that big of a stop. I blew through and thank God the sun came out. Its pretty flat to the next aid station (twin lakes) and I got to pass another hundred people. By this time, I’m 30 min off the 9 hr mark.
Twin lakes – Leadville has about 5 miles of single track. This is rather unfortunate, but for such a large field, it’s how it goes. And yes, I was boxed in behind slow people…what can you do.
So I get to Twin Lakes, and its nice. Big crowds, found Kim. I actually stopped for 4 minutes, which was nice. My bike was a total shitshow from the rain/mud/etc. Wiped the chain, rotors, stantions, etc. All better. Lube, etc. Off I go, 40 min behind schedule.
Lance – So lance passes me….going the other way right before the huge climb. Jesus he was flying…then dave passes me…He’s going to come in 2nd. The climb was long, but okay. at the tree line, it got shitty. We are talking about miles of hike-a-bike…which is my least favorite thing in the world. You can’t ride, because there are 600 people walking the Batan death march in front of you.
Nothing that you can do…its like watching a train wreck. Oh well, at least it’s not tiring.
But the line was so long, that I wondered if I’d make the 12 hr cutoff? Yes, it was that long. You look up a mile or two…or three and people are still walking.
The turn around – You hit it, and its a 9% grade back up to the summit…just enough to piss you off. Fuck it, I rode it and passed another 25 people. The a super downhill. I loved it. So I rode the Turner, with the gravity dropper, and man that was a nice angle for my back. Super nice.
Twin Lakes – Again – Felt good, ate, hung with Kim for a few minutes, then it was back in the saddle .
Hit the little single track section and it was still balled up. Oh well.
Final aid station – Is the pack thinning? Could it be. I suspected not…Powerline was going to be a bitch, with 3 false summits.
Powerline – Once again, I rode it as long as I could without being a total asshole to the walkers…and then walked…and walked…and walked….
At the last station, I knew I had 4 hrs left to make the 12 hr mark, but I was still a bit worried because I knew that Powerline would be a walkfest. Crappy.
So, after another death march, we hit the summit. Downhill, up a road, back on dirt road, and hey, this stuff looks familiar. Lookin’ good, hit the boulevard, and just laughed. Just tucked in, and finished the last climb for the friends/family/customers/etc…not a big deal really. Hit the town and down the red carpet with plenty of time to spare.
My back was a little sore, taint a little sore, but nothing too wild. I did have a little cramping at the 12,600 summit, but I think it was from playing the mounting/dismounting game before just giving in to walking.
So, I showered, Kim got me a burrito and I hit the sack. In the morning, we all could pick up our prizes…I didn’t get a sweatshirt with my time on it…I was anxious to get home…and in our old truck, that took almost 8 hrs.
But a good trip. Would I do it again? I don’t know. I’m going to think about it and write more later.
It was the longest distance and time I have ever been on a mountain bike. 103 miles. Loved the views, loved the crowd, loved the town, really disliked the walking. Loved some of the fellow riders, really fucking annoyed by some others. Should have lined up a bike – but maybe not – the mellow pace kept me from blowing up my engine, and took the pressure off a speedy finish. The 12 hr belt buckle is pretty nice. Its true, ‘its not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves’ Sir Edmond Hillary

I think its the hardest bike race I’ve ever done. Its the grand-daddy, its the rosebowl. 10959 feet of climbing, 103 miles. I”ll have a full update when I get back.
Thanks to all who were thinking positive thoughts..it really did help.
And yes, Lance passed me…and he is fast.

Trying to get the day’s work done before we leave for Leadville…orders, banking, USPS, UPS and of course…the blog…at 5:15am. That’s cool.
Thanks to Tim, who loves this bike rap shit. Actually, I think this one is pretty funny. I like the urban hipster fixie kid motif.

Which leads me to an entry from my dear wife….you’ll like this.
(Kim) “So I went to REI yesterday so pick up something for my father for his birthday. I saw their bicycle section. What a joke. Even worse, there was a pack of young, salt lake urban hipsters crawling around the bicycle area. Skinny jeans, elmo T shirts and spiky hair. Thats cool. So, the skinniest, hip-est one of them all asks the REI salesperson, hey, I’m looking at these powerstrap pedals. Can you tell me about them?
(salesperson, realizing the kid is a dipshit) They’re unsafe….what kind of riding do you do?
(lord of the flies) Road…mostly urban riding…on a fixie.
(Kim) Why don’t you get yourself some track pedals….chromed, double strap, leather.

That’s my girl! Kim then thought to herself because she’s too classy to put a hipster down…..”If you had any money, you wouldn’t need a vintage Bianchi T shirt to get laid”.

So, life is full of choices. I rode a 29er for 3 hrs last night. 1st hour hurt (I think I was just warming up), but the 2nd and 3rd hr felt fine. The 9er is more of a XC feeling bike, and I’m worried about my back. I’ll bring both bikes to leadville.
Remember friends, rule #2 is ‘never ever ride a new bike/change parts/do anything to your bike except lube and air right before your big race…especially if its a destination event’. Yeah, my mom always told me to wait 1/2 hr after a meal before going swimming and that was bullshit too.
Kims going to bring her computer so I”ll update the blog from the road bitches.

Had the pre-leadville meeting with my buddy Dr. Jeff last night. He’s a rockstar….there is a small chance that Jeff is actually busier than I am…but there is no need to get into that…The following conditions were noted…
1. I am a little underprepared.
2. I should be on a 29er
3. A trail bike was not the best choice
There are some positives…
1. My man Elden emailed me and he’s doing the race.
2. Jeff broke the 9 hr goal into stages with averages, etc. Very precise…but what else would you expect? I don’t think its impossible.
3. I really don’t give a fuck about suffering.

Riley said that some pussy was preriding the Columbine Mine climb…..
Look for an update Sat….
Until then…